“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a comedy-drama series. Set primarily in New York City during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the story follows Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a housewife turned comedian. In Season 3, she landed the chance to open for popular African-American singer Shy Baldwin during the latter’s American and European tour. She and Shy grow closer and Midge even learns that Shy is secretly gay. Before opening for Shy at the Apollo Theater, Midge begins to worry about the first of her career. Reggie, Shy’s manager, advises her to talk about Shy and their touring together during her act. That’s exactly what she does. However, Midge inadvertently talks about Shy’s girlish personality, which the singer interprets as revealing her sexual orientation to the world. She is fired and left on the tarmac, as Shy and her team depart for Prague.
In season 2, we learn that a comedian named Jack Ballard has been hired to replace Midge on the tour. Here’s everything you need to know about him. FRONT SPOILERS.
Who is Jack Ballard?
Jack Ballard is a renowned comedian. Midge and Susie have heard of him. However, Susie thinks he is dead and she has been to his funeral. Ballard must be an accomplished actor to be selected as opening act for Shy. With Midge, he tried his luck after seeing her play. Originally, famous African-American comedian Moms Mabley (Wanda Sykes) was supposed to accompany Shy. But he let her down after taking advantage of Midge’s set. The intervening period between the performance at the Apollo Theater and the departure for Prague was not so long. So they probably went for a safe option this time and picked someone well known.
Midge and Susie discover Jack Ballard in the morning paper. Midge realizes that Shy and Reggie made the decision to drop her from the tour long before she and Susie showed up on the tarmac. They wanted them both there to humiliate them.
Is Jack Ballard based on a real person?
Several characters in the series are based on entertainment legends. For example, Moms Mabley is a real-life comedian and actor. She was a leading figure on the African-American vaudeville Chitlin’ Circuit before releasing several comedy albums and working in a number of films. Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby), who has been a recurring character on the show since the beginning, is also based on a real-life comedian. The Lenny Bruce of our world is one of the greatest comedians of all time. In Rolling Stone magazine’s 2017 list of the 50 greatest comedians of all time, he ranked just after Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
As for Ballard, he doesn’t appear to be a real comedian from the 1950s and 1960s. The fact that he’s fictional increases the chances that he’ll appear later in season 4. A fictional character always gives the writers more latitude than ‘a real. They can explore different branches of the story with a fictional character, but they must be very careful when dealing with historical figures.
Read more: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Episode 1 & 2 Recap & Ending, Explained
